Latitude Family Law expresses appreciation to our staff, our clients, and our colleagues in the family bar for coming together to find ways to continue our important work during the pandemic while doing everything we can to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
A phased relaunch strategy is now underway in Alberta and we wish to communicate how this impacts our operations.
Latitude Family Law remains fully operational but we continue to follow Alberta Health Services guidelines relating to COVID-19, including with respect to social distancing and self-screening for symptoms that may require periods of self-isolation or quarantine. Our office remains open during regular business hours, but our lawyers may continue to work entirely or partially from home for a further period of time. In the interest of everyone’s health and safety, we will continue to utilize remote meeting options wherever possible. In person meetings at the office may be accommodated on a case by case basis, and whether this is possible will be in the discretion of each lawyer.
The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta has made a number of important announcements regarding significant changes to the ways that Albertans can access family court at this time. The Provincial Court of Alberta has also provided information on resumed operations. We are following these developments closely and are committed to assisting our clients to utilize these new procedures to access the Courts where necessary. We also remain available to assist with negotiation, mediation, and the Collaborative Family Law process. The Courts will be working to address the backlog of matters resulting from the cancellation of non-emergency and non-urgent matters, so we expect to experience ongoing delays in accessing the Court for a number of months. The alternate dispute resolution processes we can assist with continue to be an excellent option for many families.
The situation with COVID-19 remains uncertain and may change drastically with little notice. We thank everyone for the patience and flexibility we have observed during this challenging time. We will continue to monitor the situation and will post further updates as required.